question about copyright and common sense...

[magecarin]

Hi, I was recently on ebay and have seen the auction for obviously bootleg dvd, however the guy said that the dvd is free and the auction is on his autogram, can he get away with it or is he just trying ? assuming that you can make a copy of your dvd but you can not sell it it seems like if he gives it away "for free" he is fine ? seems bit weird but I would not be surprise

[Neo Neko]

If it is copyrighted material it is not legal. You most definatly can not sell if you have no rights to material. Use the state of P2P as your guide for this. If what he was doing was legal then there is nothing illegal at all about P2P. On P2P you generally exchange copyrighted material for no charge. But the actions taking place on P2P are illegal. And so is what he is outlining. Especially if you are selling from or buying in the United States or their friends.

[magecarin]

especially where you are in united states ? why is that ? does not other countries have copyright law ? also u said: "You most definatly can not sell if you have no rights to material." I said that guy said he is giving it away for FREE along with signature = he is selling his autograp, not the dvd, is that legal, sell 1 thing and add another (which u can not legally sell) for free ?

[wmansir]

No, it is not legal. It doesn't matter if he is giving it away, including it for free, or selling it directly.

I'm not even sure what he's trying to do here. It's not even like the idiot drug dealer who says "I don't sell drugs. I sell baggies and the drugs are included free", because selling drugs carries a heavier sentence than possession. (btw, that defence won't fly either, but there is a logic behind it.) But giving copyrighted material away is just as illegal as selling it.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by magecarin
especially where you are in united states ? why is that ?

Some countrys are much better than others at recognising and obeying international copyright and pattent law. China is one of them that has been notoriously bad in the past in this arena. Though they have made great strides in the last year or more.

Originally posted by magecarin
does not other countries have copyright law ?

Yes but it can varry from country to country and be enforced to different extents.

Originally posted by magecarin
also u said: "You most definatly can not sell if you have no rights to material." I said that guy said he is giving it away for FREE along with signature = he is selling his autograp, not the dvd, is that legal,

No. If he does not have legal rights to distribute the material he can not give coppies away. In fact that also means he can not set a big screen TV up in a park or public place and play back the material either. It is verry illegal.

Originally posted by magecarin
sell 1 thing and add another (which u can not legally sell) for free ?

The real question is would you honestly pay for his "autograph" and get the DVD. Or are you really paying for the DVD and getting his autograph. No matter how you look at it his argument does not hold water. It will not even hold big chunks of coarse gravel. If it is copyrighted material and he is not the copyright holder or he did not get permission from the copyright holder then he may not sell, give away, playback in public, re-broadcast, and or redistribute in any legal fassion.

[magecarin]

ok thx for answers, i still have bit of doubt because as far as i know:
1. you can have LEGALY copy of dvd as far as u have original
2. you can NOT sell that copy (but is there a word in copyright law that you can not give it away for free ?) that is alfa and omega i think, common sense of course says that its illegal, but in many cases americans act rather based on law then on common sense so the question stands, is it BY LAW illegal ? of course that MOST LIKELY nobody would pay for your autogram but what if someone will ? :o)

[int 21h]

Contributory infringement is similar to "aiding and abetting" liability: one who knowingly contributes to another's infringement can be held accountable. In order to prove a contributory infringement claim, a copyright owner must establish the following elements: (1) some act of direct infringement (by end-users, for example); (2) that the defendant knew or should have known of the defendant of the direct infringement; and (3) that the defendant materially contributed to the direct infringement.


I would say handing over a bootleg dvd would materially contribute to direct infringement.

[adam]

This is a classic example of what is called a peppercorn in contract law. When you purchase the autogram it is obvious you are really purchasing the DVD. This is considered an attempt to defraud the courts and besides being liable for the actual copyright infringment, you can also be held criminally liable for fraud.

The copyright does not just forbid you from selling the DVD, or a backup of it, it forbids you from distributing it in any form. Even if you give it away you are still violating the copyright, and this case the guy is obviously selling it anyway.